Temwen

There are certain steps one should follow in preparing the pounded yam here on Pohnpei. First, harvest or dig out the yams from the ground. Clean the yams until no dirt left on it. Second peel the skin of the yam with a knife and place them in water.       The next step is put the yam in a pot pour some water and put it on the stove. It will take at least half an hour for the yam to be cooked. Take the pot down from the stove, sprinkle a teaspoon of salt on the yams and mash the yams. After you pounded the yam, put sweet coconut milk on it.  Then it is ready to serve! It will be even more delicious if you eat it with barbecue reef fish. Dip in this 

One good example of Pohnpeian culture is funeral or "mehla" in our language. When a person dies, the family has a lot of responsibility to do. The family with some members of the community will get together to set up their place before the big crowd comes in. They will clean their place, set up the cooking place, etc. In the meantime, somebody representing the immediate family will go to the radio station and put up an announcement of the deceased. Some men will go to the king or "nahnmwarki" for invitation or "luk". This invitation goes to the nahnmwarki of the place the funeral will be held at. For example, if the funeral will be held at Madolenihmw municipality, the invitation will be given to the nahnmwarki of Madolenihmw. When the nahnmwarki gets there,the men would present the sakau or cava plant and cut the branches off and get the roots ready for bounding. The  master of ceremony would announce to the sakau makers to sta...

Yesterday was the worst day for me. It started out in the morning. Since, I have class in the mornings, I woke up early and get ready to come to school.I live in Temwen, Madolenihmw and it is far from the college. So I had to get up early every morning. When I was about to leave, I found out that the tire was flat. Trying my best to replace the flat tire took me about an hour because someone came and helped me. I am not a good driver so I always leave home early so that I can make it to class. But when I fixed the tire, it already was 8:00 o'clock. I got in the car and drove to school. On my way down to COM, I met a couple, who asked me if I could drop them first at the Pohnpei hospital. You know, the woman was my aunt so as a Pohnpeian, family comes first. I picked them up and drove them to the hospital. Then I turned the car and started on my way. I was already late by then. Then another problem came up, I realized that the car is almost out of gas or  empty. I tried to come up w...

The last Saudeleur was a very mean and cruel man. He was so mean that no one was  allowed to even do certain things without him knowing. He demanded more from the people. The people tried their best to please this cruel man but couldn't find a way. This cruel man set limit to everything. His wives were his precious gifts and no one was allowed to talk to any of them because he had many  women.He was a jealous man and would let no one near them even the gods themselves. One day, Luhk Nahnsapwe, god of thunder came to visit and happen to met one of his wives while the wife was fetching drinking water for Saudeleur at a small spring called Sapwtakai on the island of Temwen. The god was intimate with the wife, and they hang out together and had some fun. While having fun, they broke the coconut shell used to filled Saudeleur's drinking water. When the wife reached Nan Madol and Saudeleur learned about his broken container, he requested that his messenger fetched the god. He ord...

On Pohnpei, there are different kinds of invitations in inviting the royals to attend a feast or a funeral. There are different resources that were used, different chants to be said, or even different ways to invite a Nahnmwarki or the King of each municipality. For inviting the royals, sugar cane is needed, but not just any sugar cane is suitable for the purpose. Sugar canes that were used are the green ones.  If there was a funeral or a feast, the head of the family must let the King know or must invite the King or that family will not be considered humans or Pohnpeians. One person will be chosen from the family to go and invite the King. Men always do the invitations. When he will reach the King's residential, no matter where the king will be at that time, the person will take the sugar cane and presented it to the King. He will not say anything at first. If the invitation is for a feast, then the sugar cane will be placed vertically before his majesty. But if it is for a ...

At the far east of Pohnpei, lies a small island. It is not known to many people because its location cannot be sighted by many poeple traveling to Temwen island to visit the Nan Madol ruins. This small island although is not well known it is a very special place for me. It has a special environment  that will actually take your breath away. If you are looking for peace, I suggest that you visit this place. The island itself will comfort you and make you feel at home even if you are not from here. I know this place well even by heart. I grew up here. This island provides everything a person could even wish for. Some people would say that it seems lonely to be living on an island. But, believe me it's not true. The view, the warm breeze will make you feel peace and content. Fish, clams, sea turtles and many marine organisms live near the shore. On the land, there are many different kinds of plant growing on it. Coconut palms, bananas, mangoes, and many other kinds of trees that...